Reading hacker news and r/programming makes it seem like everybody is out there putting 60 hours a week in at a tech giant or sufficiently trendy startup and then spending another 40 on cutting edge side projects.
The only side project I did in 2018 was to solve a very specific need I had. It was about 30 lines of poorly written python that I’ll probably never go back and update because it works well enough, but I use it every day because it solved a real problem for me.
I guess my advice is to look for a problem and don’t worry if you don’t find anything. There is more too life than side projects.
If you’re just looking for something to improve your skills or show off to potential employers, you should just clone something that already exists. I believe twitter clones, Reddit clones, and basic games (pong through super Mario bros) are common choices.